SPOTLIGHTNordling and Roberts tap into the pure, child-like imagination that makes stories such as TheWonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonder-land such classics, and they do it all in a simplecomic perfect for the youngest of readers andprereaders. Little ones willsavor every panel, espe-cially as things turn weird,with gigantic musical notesraining down from the skyonto an undulating orangeroad dotted with chairsthat have morphed intothrones. Vibrant purples,teals, and golds brighten this fantasy world aswell as the realistic but still cartoonish worldof Belinda’s school, where she and her class-mates represent a variety of skin tones andbody shapes. Adults will appreciate the gentlemessage of good sportsmanship, while childrenwill be caught up in the adventure of this won-derful addition to wordless comics for youngreaders. —Snow Wildsmith

Earth before Us, v.1: Dinosaur Empire!

By Abby Howard. Illus. by the author.

Aug. 2017. 128p. Abrams/Amulet, $15.99

(9781419723063). 741.5. Gr. 4–7.

When Ronnie flunks what’s supposed to be
an easy quiz about dinosaurs, she’s understandably dejected. How is she supposed to learn
everything about dinosaurs before her retake
test tomorrow? Enter her “eccentric” (“Means
she’s a weirdo”) neighbor, Miss Lernin, a retired paleontologist who’s happy to educate
Ronnie. But Miss Lernin takes a page out of
Ms. Frizzle’s book when it comes to teaching
methods, and she whisks Ronnie back in time
to the Mesozoic Era (“Science Magic”). One
quick lesson on evolution later, and the pair
is off, traveling through the Triassic, Jurassic,
and Cretaceous periods to explore the way dinosaurs and other creatures lived and evolved.
This is more a creative presentation of facts
than a true adventure story, although there
are plenty of tongue-in-cheek jokes buried in
the energetic, sometimes frenzied illustrations,
which pack in as many dinosaurs and diagrams
as possible as well as cartoonish figures with
wide-eyed gazes. It’s an effective way of putting
the vast history of the world before humans
in perspective; dinosaur nuts (and there are
many) will eat it up. —Maggie Reagan

Good Night, Planet.

By Liniers. Illus. by the author.

Sept. 2017. 40p. TOON, $12.95 (9781943145201).

741.5. K–Gr. 3.

A little girl has a busy day playing with herstuffed animal, and when it’s time for bed,she sweetly tucks it under the covers, saying,“Goodnight, Planet.” Planet’s day, however, isfar from over. The plush creature crawls out ofbed and down to the living room, where thefamily’s dog, Elliot, is eager to play. Planet andElliot (who never speaks) are enjoying somecookies when they hear a new voice—Bradley,a mouse, knows where to find the biggestcookie any of them has ever seen. That cookieis the moon, and Planet reaches his long armsout and takes a big leap to try to catch it. Li-niers’ beautifully renderedscenes in fine ink lines andsaturated watercolor washesgive this gentle fantasy anaturalistic look, thoughhis focus on the floppy,fawn-like Planet keeps itthoroughly dreamlike. Hispanel layouts stirringlyevoke movement and grandeur, such as whenPlanet sees the moon for the first time on afull-page illustration and when he gently fallswith a soft “pof” into a pile of leaves aftertrying to grab the moon. There are plenty ofstories about what toys get up to at night, butthis quiet, masterfully executed comic is par-ticularly enchanting. —Sarah Hunter

The Loud House, v.1: There Will Be Chaos.Ed. by Jeff Whitman.

2017. 64p. illus. Papercutz, $12.99 (9781629917412).
741.5. Gr. 2–4.

Lincoln Loud is aptly named. He has 10
sisters (he’s the only boy), and this frenetic
collection of stories about the cartoonish antics of his family is riotous. The first story is
a choose-your-own-adventure-style comic, in
which Lincoln is hunting for the TV remote
and has to ask each sister (and a few pets) to
help him find it. In a thoughtful piece of book
design, flipping through the pages in a traditional manner won’t spoil the ending. Other
stories explore the personalities of his sisters
and the travails of living in such a crowded
household, such as when Lincoln wants to call
a girl, but everywhere he goes, sisters are lurking with sly, knowing looks on their faces. The
bright colors and animated drawing style reflect the series’ source material, a Nickelodeon
TV show, and heighten the comical slapstick
atmosphere. While the jokes are sometimes
predictable, and the characters are all a bit
one-note, there’s plenty of appeal to kids here,
especially those who love the quick-fire jokes
of TV cartoons. —Sarah Hunter

Lucy & Andy Neanderthal: The StoneCold Age.

In the continuing adventures of Neanderthal
siblings Lucy and Andy, their family is joined
by a group of early humans, and as the cold
weather sets in, the two groups struggle to
comfortably live together in a too-small cave.

While Lucy easily makes friends with the newkids, Andy’s feeling chaffed by the close quar-ters, and he’s eager to help the humans finda new cave to live in, though his reasons arefar from altruistic. In between Brown’s spot-on depiction of jealousies, braggadocio, andbravery among the kids from both groups, apair of paleontologists appears to offer scien-tific background on what life might have beenlike 40,000 years ago and how scientists havemade those discoveries. The fictional narrativeprovides a nice framework for the backgroundcontext, and the tone of the paleontologists’lesson is lighthearted and sometimes silly.Brown’s cartoonish figures, rendered in pleas-antly jittery lines, are full of character, and hiscomedic timing shines in his panel layouts. Forfans of the series opener or kids who like learn-ing about prehistoric eras. —Sarah Hunter

At the end of Hatke’s series starter, Mighty
Jack (2016), Jack and Lily chased after the
plant ogre that spirited Jack’s sister, Maddy,
away through a portal. The story picks up immediately afterward as Jack and Lily clamber
into an utterly unknown place, where strange
floating islands are connected by thick vines.
Driven by the urge to rescue his sister at all
costs, Jack brashly presses on, and when he
and Lily get separated, he continues up the
vine, while Lily finds herself among a gang
of friendly goblins, though they have some
ulterior motives. As he did in the first book,
Hatke fills his full-bleed pages with hordes of
fantastic monsters rendered in wild, organic
shapes, and he further enlivens the story with
snappy, comical dialogue. Well-wrought action scenes clearly depict the many battles,
and swooping perspectives make the kid heroes look even more gallant. Fans of Hatke’s
Zita the Spacegirl series will be especially
delighted by the cliff-hanger ending, which
ensures many more adventures for the plucky,
clever kids. —Sarah Hunter

Swing It, Sunny.

By Jennifer L. Holm. Illus. by MatthewHolm.

Sunny Lewin is back home after spending
the summer with Gramps in Florida (Sunny
Side Up, 2015), but things aren’t quite back
to normal. She’s starting middle school, hanging out with her best friend, playing with her
baby brother, and making friends with her new
next-door neighbor, but her brother’s in a military boarding school after getting into trouble
with drugs, and she’s worried about whether
he’s okay. In breezy vignettes spanning a school
year, the Holms offer glimpses into Sunny’s
day-to-day, but her fun is frequently interrupted by fears about her brother, which are
often triggered by totally unrelated things, like
a TV show or an idle joke made by her parents.
While bright, cartoonish art and lively atmosphere are certainly playful, there’s a serious
undercurrent of emotional complexity here.
The Holms do an impressive job of tapping
into the free-associative way kids process anxiety, and Sunny’s gradual process of facing her
fears and finding a way to relate to her brother
is sweet and inspiring. Perfect for fans of Raina
Telgemeier. —Sarah Hunter